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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2015 17:09:04 GMT -5
I have read through this entire post and it is all very interesting. I wondered if I could pick your collective brains regarding my oldest ferret, Mouse. This little lady was a working ferret once, and I got her from awful conditions. Covered in scabs and scars - her story - she had been someone's working ferret, he gave up the sport and sold Mouse in with the joblot of nets etc. The fella who had her didn't really want her but had her along with the nets and threw her in with a hutch of big hobs who mauled her horribly. He had no idea how old she was and advised me she wasn't going to do. That was 4 years ago and she has thrived. She has her own special set of issues because of her rough time but has never put a foot wrong.
Right now, she has gone to look old bless her and slowed down a bit.
Now .. teeth. One of her upper canines is completely translucent but I'm sure it's a dead root as it has always been like that. The other upper canine looks healthy BUT the clarity from the gumline is the most notable and extends over halfway down the tooth.
I suspect she is 8-9 years old, but would this fit? I can try and rope the OH into helping me get a pic if it helps ....
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Post by Heather on Dec 26, 2015 18:08:21 GMT -5
Send a pic. It's become a game of a bit to see if we can get a close guess and truthfully it's all it is. Diet has a huge effect on how the teeth look and we often mention that when we age (especially when they come from rough beginnings) but if it's not a good show of a chronological age it is a good indicator of what you may be dealing with healthwise.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Dec 26, 2015 18:31:34 GMT -5
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Post by Heather on Dec 27, 2015 0:36:25 GMT -5
Wow...clarity is 3/4 the way up. There appears to be considerable clarity on the other teeth, can't clearly see her gums but the lower canines also show considerable clarity as well. I'm going to guess at 9 or 10 yrs possibly older. The problem is we don't often see the teeth of ferrets much older than 9 yrs of age. At the tooth showing half clarity we're looking at 7+ so, yes at least 9 yrs.
I just read up on your thread and I see it's probably close to your guess.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2015 3:32:50 GMT -5
Thanks Heather. I always suspected she was not a young girl, but until reading this thread had her guessed at 7 years old. That was my optimistic hat. She's a half mini and over here, some lines of smaller ferrets live to 12 years and more, so she could conceivably be over 10 years old. And in her time with me, up until this past week or so, she's never had an unwell day and was spayed at 5-7 years old. I hope she lives to 14  |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2016 14:26:00 GMT -5
If this helps at all with aging Mouse more accurately, this is a pic of a definite 11yo ferret who has had a kibble diet for most of her life (thank you to Rebecca Lynn for giving permission for me to show this photo!)  I suspect Mouse has probably had a raw diet for most of her life as she was a worker and they usually feed whole prey ... but can't know for sure. |
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Post by Heather on Jan 3, 2016 23:13:18 GMT -5
Thank you for posting that pic of Mouse's mouth. We don't often get actual documented pics of older ferret's teeth. Is Mouse's age an actual or a guesstimate.
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 4, 2016 2:39:50 GMT -5
Mouse's age is a guesstimate, but the ferret above is a definite 11yo (not Mouse lol!) that has mostly had a kibble diet.
Thought it would be interesting to have a confirmed 11yo's teeth :-)
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Post by Deleted on Jan 5, 2016 5:10:37 GMT -5
One of my ferrets Nancy is only 2 but she has the teeth of a 6 year old which I think is a little strange.
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Post by Heather on Jan 5, 2016 15:52:06 GMT -5
We've had an Aussie post a pic of a wee one who's teeth age them at almost double what they are. That's one of the reasons why when I state a possible age I often offer a caveat and state that diet and genetics can also mess up a best guess. After all, it's all it is, a guess
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 6, 2016 22:43:07 GMT -5
Just trying to verify. I was told Riley was 2 and Enzo is 3, but starting to doubt about Enzo's age. Riley was OK when I put fish oil on my fingers, but Enzo has been very opposed to being held lately since we started preds. 20 minutes in I only got two semi-ok pictures of his teeth, we were both so stressed I couldn't keep at it. I hope I can get some advice. Riley:    Enzo:   |
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Post by Heather on Jan 7, 2016 0:38:05 GMT -5
If you look at the clarity on Enzo's photos, you will note that the clarity goes almost half way. The indication is that Enzo would be approx between 5 and 7 yrs of age. Judging from the clarity of the other teeth and the gums, I would guess 5 or 6. Riley on the other hand would be about 4 or 5. The clarity shown in the first pic appears to be a good third and a bit more of the way up on the canine. It's not as far as Enzo's but still higher up than the short third of the tooth allowing for ages 2 to 3 yrs. As always, how a kit is fed and treated during their first growth tells a lot in how their teeth appear in their later life. I could not clearly see the clarity in the other 2 pics and it could be I missed something
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2016 11:58:54 GMT -5
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Post by Heather on Jan 8, 2016 14:54:34 GMT -5
Oh, fun....Braken (work from bottom up and try not to read anything except the names)....at first I thought 4 or 5 and then I realized the whole tip is missing, either worn down or broken. Then it becomes a challenge as the other side is also worn down. So judging on clarity is probably half way and there is clarity on the other teeth I'm going to guess about 6/7. There is some clarity along the gum line as well.
Basil appears to have no clarity at the gum line and has just a tip with a secondary line so I'm going to go with 3 yrs, maybe a bit less but I'm going to guess 3
Sidney, has clarity showing up to 2/3 of the tooth and has considerable clarity along the gum line with some active red around the front teeth suggesting some gumline distress. I'm going for 7/8 yrs maybe be older but because of the look of the gums, I'm going to not go into the realm of 9 yrs
It's not often you get to see clarity all the way up the canine. She's either had a very rocky start to life or your looking at a 9/10 yr old ferret. I should see about trying to get Atreyu's teeth up here. He's supposedly about 8/9 yrs of age. He's been in my care since 2011 and he was supposedly 4 or 5 when I got him
ciao
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2016 15:01:06 GMT -5
Thanks Heather, will look forward to the photos of Atreyu (is that off the Neverending Story? lol).
Nice to know I'm not so far off on my guesses. It is shameful the number of ferrets that are sold as 'last year's kits', that are geriatric!
Snowy was bred by Sydney's breeder so I would imagine they have had similar lives? Both have been working ferrets in their previous home. But they are such cuties!
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